Creditors line up to claim losses from Bill Vlahos' failed punting club

At least $75 million was tipped into the failed punting club operated by racing identity Bill Vlahos and the figure is likely to grow, according to a report to creditors.

The figure represents a significant loss for members who believed they had accumulated a total of $500 million by betting on horse races.

Mr Vlahos' trustee in bankruptcy, Clyde White, said he had ''received numerous telephone calls and emails from individuals and syndicate leaders of the punters' club along with other parties who have advised that they are creditors''.

''Further, it appears numerous creditors may yet come forward in relation to claims they may have against the bankrupt,'' he said.

The punting club, The Edge, collapsed in early December after a group of mainly US members who had invested $26.5 million took legal action to freeze Mr Vlahos' assets.

Mr Vlahos resigned from his horse racing business, BC3 Thoroughbreds, on December 9, hours after he was allegedly bashed and a laptop containing punting records burnt when a car was set alight.

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Mr White has met fraud squad police, who are investigating the punting club, the assault and the fire.

Mr Vlahos claimed the club laid bets on international markets using a Westpac account he operated with a mysterious Dubai-based associate, Daniel Maxwell.

But in his report, sent to creditors on Friday, Mr White said he had not found Mr Maxwell and Westpac was unable to locate the joint account.

And while Mr Vlahos claimed he bet millions every weekend, he had just 79¢ left in the three betting accounts he operated when he declared bankruptcy on December 16.

While Mr Vlahos claimed to have a system for picking winning horses, he lost all of the $100,000 he invested with Luxbet before closing the account in October 2010.

He lost $428,000 to Unibet, where $1.6 million flowed through his account. ''The account contained a balance of 79¢ at the date of the bankruptcy,'' Mr White said.

At Betfair, Mr Vlahos did better, winning $50,000 before closing the account in May last year. There has been no betting through his IAS account, run jointly with his wife, since 2004 and it has been closed. His Tabcorp account also had no money in it.

Mr White said he met Victoria Police on January 2 ''in relation to the bankrupt and his involvement in the punting club''.

''I was also able to provide the detectives with an overview of what information I currently have on hand, as well as what my future investigations regarding the matter would entail,'' Mr White said.

Creditors, who are owed a total of about $79 million, are to meet on January 31 in Melbourne.